After three years of construction, the dust has settled at Urban Corps of San Diego County’s three building campus in mid-city which includes two soon-to-be-LEED® Certified buildings. The result is a state-of-the-art campus loaded with green features which serves as a model of sustainable building, working & living practices. Urban Corps provides job training & education to youth in the fields of conservation, recycling, & community service, so what better place to do that than in these sustainably designed buildings! Building materials were chosen for their recycled & renewable content as well as those with low amounts of hazardous chemicals, which help reduce air pollution and create a safe, enjoyable environment. Most furniture was donated, saving money & raw materials. In the classrooms, one server powers all work stations, eliminating the need for personal computers, saving energy & reducing heat output. Solar tubes capture natural light from the roof & channel it to offices so lights are rarely needed. When lights are on, motion sensors detect inactivity & turn off. Windows open, providing fresh air, minimizing the use of AC, saving money and energy, and providing a wonderful location in which to work & learn.Other green elements include aerated faucets & low-flow toilets that help save water & energy; native and near native plants help reduce water; and special drains filter storm water for debris, removing contaminants before runoff enters watersheds. The Community Training Room features a 23-kilowatt SDG&E-owned solar system which provides clean renewable energy to the neighborhood. The adjacent green vehicle wash includes water reclamation technology to filter soap & debris for water reuse & prevent dirty runoff. The newly constructed Recycling ECO Center is dedicated to conservation education & includes a rooftop garden, conveyer belt & compactor machine to train youth on sustainable living & the recycling process. The garden features drought tolerant plants & an “edible wall.” A rainwater capture system, composting & vermi-posting support the garden. The garden provides a hands-on learning space while creating a sustainable green landscape.The completion of the green campus is quite a feat given the vast blend of public & private funders that joined forces to accomplish the shared vision. As the Corpsmembers work to change their lives, this progressive environm

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With the type of budget most restaurants put into their bathrooms, the blah's un-design was put together and opened in less than six weeks. Tapping into the power of Craigslist, the Blind Lady's interiors consist of the barstools out of El Cajon's longest standing bar, the chairs from the Hard Rock La Jolla, oak flooring from a warehouse in east village, a 1960s Hamm's billboard out of some guys garage in Oregon, shelves and a bar made out of pieces and scraps left behind by the previous owner, mountains of wood out of people's backyards, a cold box from a subway sandwich shop and a host of equipment purchased at auctions. The sum of all these parts is a warm, livable, enjoyable re-vamp of a space that didn't fill our already busting dumps—in fact, some of the interiors came from the dump. Heart & Soul.

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The San Diego-based law firm Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and operating in a sustainable way. When it started planning to move into new office space at 525 B Street downtown, the firm incorporated sustainable building principles with original design and technology features into its new offices, including a first of its kind "living wall" as part of its two-story open air meditation garden complete with a water feature at the top of the 22 story building. Businesses such as restaurants across the nation are embracing edible living walls, but it is still rare for occupants of traditional business space to incorporate these sustainable elements into their buildings. That's why we were proud to install this living wall for Procopio, and take part in their sustainability efforts, not to mention, a beautiful space. The wall was constructed and planted over the course of two weeks onsite. It is composed of two 64 square foot sections on a north facing wall. Each is made up of 73 individual plants, all commonly known houseplants including Imperial red philodendrons, variegated spider plant, golden pothos, mother and bird's nest ferns, arrowhead plants, and various colorful bromeliads. The new building is one of the first in San Diego to obtain LEED® Certification for Existing Buildings, while Procopio is pursuing its own LEED® Certification for Commercial Interiors.

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San Marcos is going urban after 12 years as the fastest growing north county suburban city. San Marcos approved not just a couple of blocks, but 200 acres to become the largest mixed use urban development north of the Gaslamp District. University District (UD) fully integrates residential, retail and office uses in a dense, transit oriented and walkable community. UD is located adjacent to CSUSM and a Sprinter station and south of SR 78. A free shuttle will connect all areas with three Sprinter stations, employment centers, shopping and Palomar College. A main street Lifestyle center of 500,000 sf will feature residential and office uses above retail, dining, and entertainment, and a major freeway visible corporate office area will be fully integrated into the adjacent residential/retail mixed use area. UD incorporates a future 800 student elementary school site easily walkable from most of the 2,600 multifamily homes, 4 parks interspersed throughout the residential development, paths connecting the parks to the San Marcos Creek trail system, and pedestrian bridges linking UD with surrounding neighborhoods and CSUSM. Additionally, there will be up to 800 student housing units adjacent to the campus with parking on campus only. The project exceeds the proposed LEED ND standards and individual buildings will meet or exceed LEED Silver standards. The entire community of UD is designed around a Form Based Code (FBC) standard that will allow uses to change with the market over time. The FBC designates greatly reduced parking standards and encourages cross usage of those parking spaces by different building types. Other State of the Art Transportation Demand Management (TDM) features include “Park Once” Strategies, unbundled parking costs from leases, car sharing and parking benefit districts. University District evolved from an 18 month long process involving a publicly appointed Task Force and the San Marcos Planning Department that held over a dozen public meetings and workshops. The project received strong public support and was approved unanimously by both the Planning Commission and City Council with not one citizen voice in opposition. The City of San Marcos approved not only a state of the art Smart Growth project but did so by building broad public support in the process. The City of the future in North County!

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High Tech High North County in San Marcos has been in operation since 2007. This Fall it begins its third year in a beautiful new building designed by Studio E Architects and built by Bycor General Contractors. High Tech High North County is a prime example of what great things can be done with limited budgets and timelines. Studio E’s plan organizes school activities around an active “Main Street” gallery the school’s primary social space and display area for student work that links a series of educational neighborhoods of classrooms, exploratories, and studios. Designed to emphasize sustainability and community, the building carefully attends to its setting by capturing prevailing breezes and daylight while limiting direct solar gain. The use of simple materials in innovative ways has created a vibrant building that enhances the learning environment. The project was also designed with sustainability in mind and has received the EPA Energy Star Program, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Verification, and US Green Building Council LEED Silver Certification.

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